Boston Garden

ARTICLES ABOUT BOSTON GARDEN BY DATE - PAGE 2

If there are any more memories left in Boston Garden, now is the time for them to come out from behind the pillars. Tuesday night's exhibition game between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens is the final event slated for the 67-year-old building. The banners will be taken down from the rafters Friday night and raised in the new arena Saturday. "It's time," Bruins Hall of Famer Bobby Orr said Monday at a reception at the New England Sports Museum. "It's creaky, and we all get a little creaky.

The banner with the retired numbers of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson and Reggie Lewis has been stolen from the rafters of Boston Garden. That's the opinion of Garden President Larry Moulter, who confirmed Sunday night that the banner-one of three with retired Celtics' numbers - was missing. Moulter said the banner disappeared late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. It has the numbers 33, 32, 3 and 35 and was used last week when Lewis' number was retired. "We are acting under the presumption that this was a stolen banner," Moulter said.

Reggie Lewis' No. 35 was raised to the rafters Wednesday, and defenders of the late Celtics star were ready to hit the roof following recent allegations of drug abuse that have sullied his memory. A banner bearing Lewis' jersey number was hoisted during emotional halftime ceremonies at the Bulls-Celtics game in the Boston Garden. Meanwhile, a cloud of controversy continues to hang over the true legacy of Lewis, who died of heart failure in July of 1993. Rumors and allegations of occasional cocaine use by Lewis have surfaced in recent weeks.

When Michael Jordan proclaimed Wednesday night that it was "good to be back," you had the distinct feeling he wasn't talking about being back in uniform, or back in the NBA, or back to the Boston Garden. Oh, he was happy about all of that too. But that's clearly not what fulfills him most. It's not what had him reclining on the Bulls' bench in the fourth quarter, spent and satisfied and trading grins with Scottie Pippen. And it's not what had the Garden faithful filing out strangely contented after the 124-107 thrashing their Celtics absorbed.

NBA Commissioner David Stern prior to Wednesday's game at Boston Garden issued his first public statement regarding the return of Michael Jordan. Stern was gushing when asked about the league-wide significance of Jordan's unretirement. "Michael who?" Stern said jokingly. "We were taken by surprise by his departure and by his return. His departure left us with a player who couldn't be replaced. America was very ready to receive him. The ratings were terrific for the game. And I think there is going to be rekindled interest in his career."

Michael Jordan was asked if he could call one night at Boston Garden, above all the other great games he has had, as "my night." "Well I would say the 63-point game ," Jordan replied, "but that was during the daytime. I think the night before that though, people tend to forget the first game, but I had 49. Larry and I had a pretty good confrontation that night. There were a lot of words said. And I learned a lot just from listening to him and I learned a lot of new language that I could use in later years.

Jud Buechler appears to be the proverbial odd man out as the Bulls activated Larry Krystkowiak on Tuesday and placed Buechler on the injured list with tendinitis of the right knee. Buechler, a 6-foot-6-inch swingman, was averaging four points in 10 minutes a game, but more important had become a reliable outside shooting threat and an energetic defensive presence off the bench behind Scottie Pippen. Krystkowiak, who has started just 14 games this season because of knee injuries and a bout with appendicitis, is expected to be quickly worked into the Bulls' rotation, possibly starting again soon at power forward in place of Toni Kukoc.

Time is running out on the old arenas in the National Hockey League. At the end of this season, historic Boston Garden will be torn down, and new arenas are scheduled to replace the old ones in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Montreal and Vancouver in the next few years. Great Arena Hockey Tours is offering hockey fans three tours to enjoy games at these and other hockey arenas in the United States and Canada before it's too late. The Last Chance Forum/Garden Tour (March 25-April 1) meets in Montreal that Saturday at noon for a tour of the Forum and the game that evening between the Ottawa Senators and the Canadiens.

The great west wall is nearly gone and the famed balconies have already collapsed one upon the other like some kind of earthquaked freeway. The place looks like a Chechnyan condo. Rubble obscures where Gate 3 1/2 was, the little side door to Chicago Stadium that provided entrance to the players and the press and the privileged. The public gates are covered with plywood. This is not pretty, but the Stadium has never looked better. Not soon enough will it be landfill and the vacant space will be leveled for suburban sedans.

Acme Wrecking? This is Chicago Stadium calling. You might want to hold off for a while. Dynasties Annual? Yes, this is the Bulls. Don't cancel our subscription quite yet. And so, with the Bulls' fight-filled, controversy-marred, lead-blowing, buzzer-beating 104-102 victory Friday night over the New York Knicks, it's not quite time to say our goodbyes to the athletic shrine on West Madison Street and the athletes who helped immortalize it....